Kare Kanojo no Jijo
by ReiAkari
Summary: *Updated!!! 01/26/03!* A love letter starts it all. The relationships between friends changes into something much more complicated. A story of romantic high jinks, misunderstandings, and Quidditch. Fred/Angelina, George/Katie...for now
1. Kare no Jijo

**Kare no Jijou: His Situation**

Part 1

By KnightHunter

Fred jumped when a hand grabbed his shoulder and whirled him around. He was speechless as he stared into the deep brown eyes of a very pissed off female chaser. 

_ 'What'd I do now?' _he thought to himself as she grabbed the robes at the base of his neck and shoved him into a nearby wall. 

"Where's Fred?" Angelina asked menacingly, shoving him harder against the wall. 

If it could have been possible his jaw would have dropped the floor. As it was, all he could manage was to stare at her blankly, mouth agape in shock. "B-but, but, I'm-" he just couldn't believe it. "Angelina, I'm Fred." 

"Come off it, George, do you think I'm stupid?" she hissed as she tightened her grip on his robes. "I've always been able to tell you two apart." 

"I know!" Fred gasped, the colour draining from his face. "Angelina, really, it's me, Fred!" 

"George, I know you love your brother dearly, but now is not the time to try to cover for him," she said angrily as she continued to tighten her grip. 

Fred was starting to panic. He didn't know why she was so angry, or what he could have possibly have done. What bothered him most was that she kept thinking he was George. Ever since their first year at Hogwarts she could tell them apart, even if their backs were turned. She was also the only person he knew that could tell them apart just by voice. Maybe her judgement was clouded by anger. Whatever was going on, it must be fairly bad. He had to do something quickly, her grip on him was becoming painful and she was getting close to strangling him. 

'Well, two can play at that game,' he thought as he lifted his arms and grabbed Angelina by the wrists. With cat-like reflexes Angelina shook free of his grip and shoved him back against the wall, her hands slamming into his shoulders roughly. 

"I'm not playing around, George!" Angelina shouted angrily. 

Fred couldn't help it. Even though his neck was sore and his shoulders were screaming in pain, even though Angelina was two seconds away from beating the stuffing out of him for some unknown offence; he couldn't stop smiling. 

Maybe it was because the fact that he had an extremely large crush on the tall, dark, and beautiful girl. And that she was desperately looking for him. Just knowing that she would beat his twin brother to a pulp so she could find him touched his heart in some odd way. She was so close, and he couldn't help but think at how appealing she looked when she was angry. 

"I don't know where he is, quite honestly," Fred answered truthfully. He didn't have a clue where George was, but when he found him he'd gladly point him in Angelina's direction. 

"You're lying." Her eyes narrowed as she eyed him suspiciously. 

"Completely honest. But whatever is going on between you and Fred is no cause for you to pummel me into the wall," Fred said, trying to act and sound as much like George as possible. He smiled again as he realised he didn't have to try; she already thought he was George. 

Angelina took a deep breath and sighed dejectedly. Her body seemed to relax a bit and her grip on his shoulders softened. "You don't know where he is?" she asked, her voice a slightly softer than normal. 

"What's going on?" Fred asked, trying not to sound too curious even though he was dying to know. 

At that she let go of his shoulders and turned her back to him. "Sorry about that. I was just so angry, and you were the first one I saw." She sounded like she was about to cry. 

"What did he do? What happened?" he asked. _ 'Whatever it was, George is going to die,' he thought angrily. _

"It's not his fault really, at least I don't think…" Angelina faltered as she pulled out a crumpled strip of parchment and handed it to him. 

His heart stopped. 

It was a letter. A letter he had written, but had never intended to be read. He had written it a week ago, but he thought had he got rid of it. His mind began to race as he wondered how it had ended up in her hands. 

_ Angelina- I just wanted you to know that I love you. Not just because you are funny, caring, and tough as nails. Not just because you are heartrendingly beautiful. But because you are special. You are a rare gem that no one has discovered yet. You are already beginning to shine in your own way. _

I remember when I first met you. You beat the living daylights out of me on the train for turning your white kitten purple. You were too tall, too skinny, and your hair was thick and untamed. Even so, you were pretty then, although no one had noticed yet. You were "that black girl from a Muggle family". You had such a hard time in your first year. You had to be first in everything, the best at everything; you never let anyone get close to you. 

I thought you hated me then. Somehow I just had to keep trying, even after George and Lee gave up. I think I was obsessed with trying to make you laugh, make you smile. Now that I look back I was probably very annoying. I never did get you to smile that first year. Second year you were different. More confident about just being you, I think. You smiled at me as I got on the train. I fell in love with you right at that moment. You have the warmest smile; a smile from you could make anything look brighter. I dragged Lee and George over so we could sit with you. And I think they fell in love with you as much as I did. Charming, funny, and sweet. I didn't take much to win them over. They saw the person that I had seen hiding the year before. You made so many friends so quickly; it was a piece of cake for you. You opened yourself, and everyone was drawn to you. People fought just for a chance to sit next to you. 

Quidditch. You were an amazing Chaser even back then. That was where the inner strength you carried shone through. You showed no fear, even when the odds were against you. You played harder than anyone else, pushed everyone harder, owned every play. I remember when you were hit by a bludger and got knocked off your broom. You just got up and kept playing. You had a shattered knee and a ruined arm yet you still managed to score three times before Hooch pulled you out of the game. Wood thought you were mental. They all did. Except for me. I wouldn't have expected anything else from you; the only way for you not to get back on that broom was if you were knocked unconscious. You are so very strong, determined, and stubborn as hell. 

It's not hard for me to love you. 

The rest of the letter was missing. He was horrified; he knew she had read it already. She recognised his handwriting. Was that why she was raging? 

"A Slytherin in my Potions class had this. He thought it was really quite funny. He read the whole thing to Snape and the entire class. Everyone was laughing. I was horrified. He kept saying he wrote it, but I knew he was lying." 

A feeling of dread began to fill his senses. "And what happened then?" 

"I called him a liar, ripped the letter from his hands and punched the hell out of him." 

"In front of Snape," Fred whispered, full of surprise. Angelina turned back around and smiled slightly. 

"Snape gave Gryffindor ten points. He said it had been a long time since he'd seen a girl punish a boy like that." 

"Why so annoyed then?" 

"If he really felt this way about me, why didn't he just tell me?" she asked, almost painfully. "Instead of writing a lengthy letter expressing his love, only to leave it somewhere where anyone could find it? Furthermore," she added, causing Fred to wince, "he managed to write it in a way that anyone who read the letter would know who the person was writing about, and yet not know who wrote the damn thing." 

"Except for you," Fred said light-heartedly. 

"Yes, after everyone in the whole school had read the letter. All day I've either been asked if I knew who wrote it or if I liked having a secret admirer." She sighed angrily. "That letter was personal; it shouldn't have been passed around like that. Make sure Fred gets it back." 

All Fred could do was stare at her back as she walked down the corridor. How did someone find it? Where was the rest of the letter? He racked his brain. He had written it a week ago in the common room and then ripped it in half. He had decided to burn it after everyone went to bed. He'd put it into his inner robe pocket. And then he couldn't remember doing anything else with it; he'd never got around to burning it. There had been an impromptu Quidditch game that night which had completely driven the matter of the letter from his mind. 

The Quidditch game. During which half of the letter might well have fallen out of his pocket onto the field. Where anyone could have found it. He sank to the floor. What should he do? Find Angelina? His heart froze at the very thought of that idea. He sighed and reached into the pocket of his robes. There was a crumpled piece of parchment; he opened it thinking it was the rest of his letter. 

_ I love you, too. _

Angelina 

Fred read the sentence over and over, trying to work out how it got there. Why was it there? Who put it there? He thought about it and suddenly realised he had just been had. If there were rumours about Angelina flying around all day, why hadn't he heard about them? Snape had never been known to give a Gryffindor ten points for any reason. Angelina could have slipped that note into his pocket when she attacked him, pretending that she thought he was George. This was all a big joke. A joke that only the warped mind of his brother could have come up with. 

"Okay, George, Lee, where are you two?" Fred asked, as he stood up feeling horribly embarrassed. 

As if in response, two boys fell out from behind two stone columns laughing hysterically. 

"Did you see his face?" Lee asked, slapping the column for emphasis. 

"Looked like the world ended," George answered, grinning maniacally. 

"Angelina was amazing. She could have fooled even us," Lee said as George nodded his head in agreement. 

"How? Why?" all Fred was could manage to ask. 

"I found the letter in my robe pocket six days ago. The robe you borrowed," George answered. "It took me a while to decide what to do with it. I finally just gave it to Angelina. It was addressed to her anyway." 

Lee smiled, "Angelina beat us up for reading it, but we could tell she was happy about it. She's always liked you." 

George continued laughing. "The whole thing was my idea. Angelina wanted to tell you about the letter, but knew you'd be horrified that she knew how you felt. Especially since that would mean she'd have to confess that she felt the same way." 

"I hate you gits," Fred announced. He must have been smiling like an idiot. He certainly felt as if he was. She loved him. And she knew that he loved her. Life was good. Life was really good. 

"You're welcome," George and Lee said in unison. 

"I said 'hate you' not 'thank you'," he said laughing. 

"We know you're grateful about us helping you two get together and everything, but really it was nothing," Lee smirked, slapping Fred on the shoulder. 

"So where is she?" Fred asked, looking down the corridor in the direction Angelina had left in. 

"Probably at Chaser practice," George said as they started to walk down the corridor. "Got to admire her though, she pulled this little joke on you and still managed to finish in time to make it to practice." 

"Wood would throw a fit if she was late," Fred said, trying to not sound as disappointed as he felt. 

"We could go down to the field and watch," George suggested. 

"What if Wood sees us?" Fred asked. "I really don't feel up to playing Quidditch right now." 

"She really went for you," Lee said with a laugh. "Shoulders a bit sore?" 

"Sore isn't even close," Fred groaned. "For a joke she slammed me pretty hard." 

"Don't worry, Fred," George said as he slapped Fred hard on the shoulder. "You can talk to her tomorrow." 

"Right, tomorrow." 

** To Be Continued… **

Next Episode:

How did Angelina find out? Why did George get involved in the first place? In the next** Kare Kanojo no Jijo: Her Situation.**


	2. Kanojo no Jijo

**Kanojo no Jijo: Her Situation**

The Plan: Part 2

By KnightHunter 

George was in a foul mood that morning. He had been forced to wake up earlier than usual because he had a predawn detention with Snape. The consolation of getting up early was that he got to wear Charlie's old robes, which were in considerably better shape than Bill's. It always seemed like Fred got the nicer hand-me-downs. "So what if he's two minutes older?" George muttered to himself as he emptied the robe's pockets. 

"Well, well, what's this?" he wondered as he found two crumpled strips of parchment. As he read them he began to smile. He grabbed his things and rushed down to common room where Lee Jordan, who also had detention, was waiting impatiently for him. 

"Look what I found," George said gleefully as he waved the parchment that he had found. 

"Looks like tatty parchment," Lee answered as they walked towards Snape's class. George stopped and gave Lee a look that clearly said 'you're no fun.' 

Lee sighed loudly and resignedly asked, "What have you got, then?" 

"A love letter," George said with a laugh. 

"To whom, from who?" Lee asked, peering over his friend's shoulder to look. 

"From Fred, to Angelina," George answered as he passed the remains of the letter to Lee. 

"'I fell in love with you right at that moment. You have the warmest smile; a smile from you could make anything look brighter,'" he read aloud, sniggering. 

"I didn't know you'd noticed," George said with a laugh, batting his eyelashes furiously. 

"How'd you get your hands on it?" Lee asked as he handed the parchment back to George. 

"Doesn't matter. What matters is what we do with it." 

"Do with what?" Angelina enquired as she walked towards them. 

"Nothing!" George said loudly as he shoved the letter back into his pocket. "What are you doing up so early?" 

"Didn't look like nothing," Angelina stated as she leaned her broomstick against the wall. "I always get up this early. This is the best time to go flying." 

"I'm sure," Lee commented sarcastically. 

"Where's Fred?" Angelina asked. George and Lee looked at each other and burst out laughing. "What?" 

"Nothing!" Lee choked, laughing even harder. 

"Absolutely nothing!" George added, his face a furious red. 

"What's so funny?" Angelina demanded, looking suspiciously at the two laughing boys. 

"Weasley! Jordan!" Their laughter was cut short as Snape walked towards them. "I said to report to my classroom before dawn." 

"I'm sorry Professor Snape, I didn't know they had detention. If I had known I wouldn't have kept them," Angelina apologised reaching, for her broom. 

Snape glared at her for a second. "They knew where they needed to be." He turned to the boys. "Five points each from Gryffindor for your abysmal timekeeping." Snape whirled around and began to walk back to his classroom with steadily increasing speed. 

The boys sighed and began to follow Snape down the hallway. George smiled as he reached into his pocket. "Oh, Angelina. I forgot to give you this." He quickly stuffed two crumpled strips of parchment into her hand. "Got to go!" he shouted as he sprinted down the hall to catch up with Snape and Lee. 

Angelina sighed and placed the parchment in her robe pocket. It was still dark outside, yet the sky was showing traces of the approaching morning. The sky was clear and the stars and moon were still visible. She got onto her broom and began to fly east, towards the Quidditch field. The chilly air was moist and there was a light fog covering the ground. She shot upwards, high above the layer of fog and looked down. The entire Quidditch field looked like a lake filled with vapour. She made a few lazy laps around the field as she watched the sun break through the horizon before heading towards the school. 

She landed in front of the entrance to the great hall. Breakfast was served quite early at Hogwarts, and she was sure that George and Lee's detention would be over. She suddenly remembered the parchment George had given her before sprinting away. She picked up one of the strips, unfolded it, and began reading as she entered the hall. 

_ You are my best friend. Next to George anyway. I just can't stand hiding how I feel. I'm terrified that you'll read this and won't feel the same. I've never felt this way for anyone else, and I doubt I'll ever feel this way for anyone other than you. I'd rather die a thousand deaths than lose you. I love you. _

Fred 

She quickly opened the other half of the letter and read it. She realised that the half she had read first was actually the end of the letter. 

"What are you reading?" Katie Bell asked, tapping Angelina on the shoulder and shaking her from her racing thoughts. 

"N-nothing," she muttered, her voice shaking. This wasn't a joke, was it? It was definitely Fred's handwriting, but why would George give this to her? Was it true? 

"You really need to cut out the early morning flying. You were just standing there looking like death warmed up." 

"Oh, no, it's just…" Angelina motioned to the crumpled parchment in her hand. "Just a bad joke George wrote." 

Katie rolled her eyes. "You and those Weasleys. Especially Fred." 

Angelina jumped. "What about me and Fred?" 

"Nothing," Katie purred as she sat at the Gryffindor table. "Just that when you two are together there's always some kind of trouble." 

"That is true," Angelina admitted as she sat next to Katie. 

"Morning, Katie, Angelina," Alicia Spinnet greeted them as she sat across from them. 

"G'morning," Katie said, filling her plate. 

"Morning." 

"Well, if it isn't just the three most beautiful women in the world!" Oliver Wood exclaimed as he sat next to Alicia. 

"Good morning, Oliver." All of them greeted him in unison, smiling. 

"Aren't you all brilliant rays of light this morning?" Oliver continued with a smile. 

Alicia rolled her eyes and elbowed Oliver sharply in the ribs. "Enough compliments." 

"Ow." Oliver stared at her, rubbing his side. 

"Eat your breakfast," Alicia commanded plainly. 

"No fair. Why should the Quidditch captain get to keep all the pretty ones to himself?" Lee Jordan demanded as he sat next to Oliver. 

"They're on my team," Oliver said. 

"I belong to no man," Alicia stated, stabbing her fork into her sausage to emphasise her point. 

"Me neither," Katie nodded in agreement. 

"Neither do I," Angelina added automatically, considering it part of their morning ritual. 

"You don't?" Lee asked, raising an eyebrow inquisitively. "What about Fred?" 

Angelina just stared at him. "What about him?" she asked, trying to keep her voice level. 

"I was asking you," Lee countered with a smile. 

"Oh, come off it Lee," Katie groaned. "She doesn't have to say it. We all know." 

"All know what?" Angelina asked. 

"You're absolutely head over heels for Fred. Have been since last year," Katie replied, nonchalantly reaching for a second helping of eggs. 

Angelina was rendered speechless. Was it that obvious? 

She couldn't help but like Fred. After he had spent his entire first year at Hogwarts hell-bent on getting her attention, she couldn't help but think about him during the summer holidays. She had missed the annoying redhead more than she would have cared to admit. Even though she had been at home, surrounded by her friends and family, something had been missing. 

On the train back to Hogwarts that second year she had been genuinely happy to see him. And she had smiled. That was all it had taken. Her smile had been like a defeated enemy waving the white flag of surrender. He had worn down her defences; got under her skin. That smile was all the encouragement he had needed. He had rushed over to her side and began to talk as if he had completely forgotten that she had desperately tried to ignore him for the entire previous year. He had kept smiling like the cat that got the canary, his own personal victory. 

Fred had been her first friend at Hogwarts, and that year he had been her constant companion. She and the twins had got into so much trouble that first term. Somehow, she seemed to be cleared of all crimes committed, for Fred always took her share of the blame. They tried out for the Quidditch team purely on a whim. They'd spent the entire trial messing about. Much to their surprise, it was their fooling around that secured their place on the team. 

_ "Johnson, what was that?" second year Katie Bell flew next to her, smiling brightly. _

"What was what?" Angelina asked as she looked down at the captain who was busy taking notes. 

"That reverse pass was brilliant. How'd you know I'd be there?" Katie asked as she waited for Wood to throw the Quaffle back into play. 

"Just a hunch." Angelina said with a shrug. "What you did was pretty wicked." 

Angelina had known that she would be there. Throughout most of the trial she noticed that whenever she had the Quaffle, the pale girl with the long brown hair always flew in the same spot behind her left shoulder, just in passing distance if Angelina chose to pass to her. During the last play two opposing Chasers were zeroed in on her and a third was headed straight on. The only thing Angelina could think of was to toss the Quaffle over her shoulder and hope that Katie was there, which fortunately she had been. Katie caught the Quaffle and shot upwards. Whilst the other chasers went after her, she dropped the Quaffle straight into Angelina's hands leaving Angelina completely unguarded and so able to pass the keeper and score. 

"You can do better than that, Weasley!" Fred shouted as he backhanded the Bludger with his club, causing it to fly behind him - directly at the Chaser George was guarding. 

"Hey, what're doing?" George blocked the Bludger and flew toward his twin. "Have you gone daft? We're on the same side!" With one hand he swung at his brother looking as if he was going to punch him. 

Fred swung himself upside down on his broom. "Fancy that!" he shouted as he swung at a passing Bludger, causing it to hit a Chaser from the other team. As he righted himself he cried, "Thanks for the tip!" 

"Bloody hell!" Wood shouted excitedly. He waved the players in, nearly bubbling over with excitement. "Johnson, Bell, Spinnet, Weasley, Weasley, Macmillian, meet me in locker room in five minutes to get your uniforms and gear. Everyone else can head back to the castle." 

They all stared at the wild-eyed Quidditch captain, who was now pacing up and down. "A perfectly aimed Bludger Backbeat, Weasley," he enthused as he shook Fred's hand. 

"Is that what I did?" Fred asked humbly. "I was just trying to get George." 

"Nice Transylvanian Tackle," Oliver commented, now shaking George's hand. "Never seen a bloke pull it off. Most of the time the punch connects and the player gets a foul." 

"I just missed that's all," George said, shrugging his shoulders. 

"I was sold on you two the moment um . . . you, uh, Fred, is it? You did that Sloth Grip Roll and used the Starfish and Stick to hit that Bludger. Using a Keeper move, that's genius! Damn brilliance, mad as hell, but brilliant!" Oliver exclaimed, pulling both boys into a hug. "Great play!" 

"He's gone bonkers," Fred gasped. 

Oliver let go of the pair and continued down the line. "Excellent reverse pass back there," he congratulated as he shook Angelina's hand. 

"It was bloody excellent," Fred chimed in. 

"Shut up, Fred," Angelina said smiling. Between her teeth she added, "Don't encourage him." 

Oliver was too excited to notice the laughter that erupted from the twins as he reached for Angelina and gave her a tight hug. "That was a perfectly played Porskoff Ploy," Oliver added as he shook Katie's hand and released Angelina simultaneously. 

"Seemed like a good idea," Katie shrugged, taking a hesitant step away as he tried to hug her as well. As he turned away from her, Katie pointed to the back of Oliver's head and mouthed to Angelina, "What's with him?" 

"I see you remembered the Parkin's Pincher from last year," Oliver smiled at Alicia. "I knew you'd make a good starter this year." 

"Oh stop, you're making me blush," Alicia said sarcastically as she swiped at him with her broom. "Hands off, Wood. I know you get all touchy-feely when you're happy, but honestly!" 

"Eric, it's your last year. Best damn seeker in the whole school. Let's make this year a good one!" Oliver addressed the tall skinny boy with the blond hair, ignoring Alicia's last comment. They both gave each other high fives. 

"With a team like this, we'll make it to the final," Eric announced confidently. 

Eric was right. They made it to the Quidditch final. They were almost guaranteed to win. Slytherin didn't have a chance, or so they thought. 

Her thoughts immediately changed focus to their first Quidditch final. 

Gryffindor was up by fifty points, and Slytherin was playing nasty. One of the Slytherin beaters shot a bludger directly at Angelina, and while she dodged that, she didn't notice the other bludger barrelling towards her until it was too late. It slammed into her the arm with enough force to knock her off her broom. She was quite high up at the time and so hit the ground with some force. Even so, perhaps if she had landed differently she might not have been so badly hurt. The team gathered around her and Wood was frantically waving over the medics. She had felt her leg break as she had landed, but she hadn't realised how badly it was broken. She gathered all the strength she could manage, and snatched her broom out of Fred's hands with her uninjured left arm. She used the broom to support her as she stood and managed to mount it, her left leg dangling at an odd angle. The team protested, but she ignored them. Riding a broomstick with a broken leg was not an easy task, and in retrospect she would admit it had been a pretty idiotic thing to do. However, she did it, and still managed to score thirty points. But not alone. 

Her balance was off. Her left leg was broken, and she could barely move her right arm. She was used to putting the Quaffle in her right hand, now she had to use her left. She reached for the Quaffle with her left arm, and pain shot up her leg. Somehow managed to get it. She shot forward, the pain she felt more than she thought she could bear. She circled the post and scored. Fairly easy, a little too easy. 

"You've done enough." She could hear Fred's voice nearby. "You almost fell off your broom again." 

"What?" She turned her head and realised that Fred was flying next to her, one arm was on her left shoulder. "Were you there the whole time?" 

He swatted a bludger towards one of the Slytherin chasers. "Didn't notice me? I thought so. You're very fast." 

She didn't answer. The game was still going on around them. Katie and Alicia were trying hard to play without her. "So that's your job. Keep me from playing?" 

"Wood thought I'd be the only person you'd listen to. I tried to reason with him. You're too bloody stubborn." He flew in closer and looked at her; his eyes were filled with concern. "All right?" 

She nodded and took a deep breath. 

"Ready when you are," he said, looking at the field. 

"Try and keep up," she said with a weak smile. 

She flew into the midst of a Slytherin play, catching them all off guard, snatched the Quaffle right out of Flint's hand and shot for the goal. With Fred flying close by her nothing got anywhere near. Whenever she felt like she was losing her grip on her broom, he was there to hold her up. 

After her third goal, Flint threw a fit and went to Hooch. He referred to Wood as a masochistic bastard for letting Angelina play after her fall and with her injuries. Madam Pomfrey, unsurprisingly, agreed. Madam Hooch had to threaten Gryffindor with a forfeit to get her to agree to come down. Angelina had learned later in the infirmary that Gryffindor had narrowly lost anyway, but she had been honoured as the MVP of the game. 

Even though Madam Pomfrey fixed most of the damage to Angelina's body with magic, her leg wasn't something that could be fixed overnight. She was put into a plaster cast and sent back to Gryffindor House in a wheelchair. Unlike the Muggle wheelchairs Angelina was familiar with, it was charmed so all she had to do to move was tell it where she wanted to go. A levitation spell ensured that the many stairs of Hogwarts posed no problems. 

"Hello," a pale hand waved in front of her face, breaking her reverie. "Earth to Angelina." 

Katie was staring at her with a smile on her face. "Breakfast's over, pet." 

"I was daydreaming?" Angelina asked. 

Katie nodded. "You looked so content in la-la land we all just left you alone." 

"Oh God," Angelina groaned as she buried her head in the table. She had just spent all of breakfast daydreaming about Fred. 

"Just staring up at the ceiling with this blissful smile on your face," Katie added with a smirk. 

"Ok, ok. I get the point," Angelina mumbled into the table. 

"Fred thought it was cute," Katie said knowingly. 

Angelina's head shot up. "What?" 

"He was staring at you all through breakfast. I swear, that boy worships you. Oh, by the way, George gave me this to give to you. See you in potions." 

Angelina sighed. Another 'present' from George. 

_ Angelina - Locker Room 4:00pm. _ Perfect. Just perfect. Her thoughts kept returning to the letter. Did Fred know she had it? What was George up to? Whatever it was, she didn't like it. 

*************** 

"What's this about?" Angelina demanded as she stomped into the locker room. 

"I found it this morning. Fred wrote it yesterday, I think. Looks like he chickened out of giving it to you, and was probably going to get rid of it." 

"Then why did you give it to me?" she asked angrily. 

"It was written for you. I wouldn't have given it to you if I didn't think you felt the same way," George replied knowingly. 

"I- you think I'm in love with Fred." 

"Or something close to it. It's pretty obvious to everyone else that there's something going on between you two. You're both just too blind to notice," George stated as he sat on a bench. 

"What do you want?" Angelina asked as she sat down next to him. 

"Payback," George said with a bright smile. 

"For what?" 

"Must there always be a reason?" George answered with a shrug. "Look at it this way, if you help me out, I'll help you out." 

"Help me with what?" 

"Fred's a bit touchy when it comes to his feelings. If he knew that you have the letter and that you'd read it, he'd rather jump off of the Astronomy Tower than hear your reaction to it." Realising that Angelina wasn't buying that approach, he changed tactics. "So what do you plan to do about the letter?" 

"Do about the letter?" she echoed. "I haven't thought much about it. I thought maybe I should just tell him, but I can't think of what to say. 'Hey Fred, I found your confession of love for me. I love you too. Let's go to Quidditch practice.'" She sighed. "I didn't expect to find out like this." 

"Aha, you were expecting to find out sooner or later. Deep down you knew. You two are both such simpering romantics. Got to be something big or it's not worth doing," George said, laughing. "If you two both wait for the other to confess you'll never get together. " 

Angelina glowered at him. He was right. As he almost always was. George was the one who observed from the background and usually picked up on things. That's why he was always the mastermind. He knew everyone's strengths and weaknesses. 

"So you think he's waiting around for me? To tell him how I feel?" she asked. 

George nodded. "Believe it or not, but he's really shy." 

Angelina laughed. "He followed me around for all of first year like a puppy dog." 

"Ok, so he's not_ that_ shy. But he usually takes your lead on things." 

"So what's your plan?" 

********************* 

"I can't believe he talked me into this," Angelina told herself as she stood in the supposedly empty corridor. 

She watched as Fred walked past her. He hadn't even noticed her standing against the wall. He was probably wondering why she had been acting so strangely around him all week. She took a deep breath and turned to follow him down the hall. She looked to her left and saw George and Lee both giving her a thumbs up before ducking behind a couple of large stone columns. 

She lunged forward and grabbed Fred by the shoulder. This was the tricky part. She had practised with George, trying to perfect a method of somehow slipping her note into his robe pocket without him noticing. It was the only way for this prank to work. As she turned him towards her with one hand the other reached for the pocket. She realised that he was too far from her for her to reach, so instead she slammed him into the wall. 

"Where's Fred?" she asked as menacingly as she could without laughing right in his face. He looked so scared. His expression was confused for a moment due to the sudden act of violence being aimed at him and the anger in her voice. She continued pretending to believe that he was George. He was so bewildered that he didn't notice when she placed the note into his pocket. Then he began to smile a strange smile. Instead of continuing to protest his identity he began pretending to be George. It was time to get out before this got too weird. She had to do her part. 

She spoke her rehearsed lines perfectly, keeping her back to him so that he couldn't see the huge smile that was on her face. 

"Sorry about that. I was just so angry, and you were the first one I saw." Her voice was beginning to crack; she was going to start laughing at any second. 

"What did he do? What happened?" Fred asked, sounding angry and worried at the same time. 

"It's not his fault really, at least I don't think..." she said, trying to sound unsure of herself as she took out the first half of his letter and handed it to him. She didn't need it; she had read it so many times that she could recite it from memory. 

Fred went very quiet for a moment as he realised what he had just been handed. To break the awkward silence Angelina concocted a story about a fictional Slytherin finding the letter and reading it in front of her whole Potions class. She found herself becoming away, and by the time she had finished Fred looked absolutely crushed. She winced internally and fought the impulse to give him a huge hug. What was done was done, and there was no point in trying to take it back. She noticed some movement out of the corner of her eye. A pale wrist was waving frantically from behind the column, while a considerably darker hand was pointing to a watch on the aforementioned wrist. She had to go. Hopefully George and Lee would keep to their part of the plan and sort everything out. 

"That letter was personal; it shouldn't have been passed around like that. Make sure Fred gets it back," she said before she rushed down the corridor towards the Quidditch field. 

She was late for Chaser practice and Oliver would probably keep her back to make up for being late. So much for getting a chance to speak with Fred alone tonight. 

"I'll just make sure I talk to him first thing tomorrow," she told herself as she grabbed her broom and rushed to the field. 

Some things are more easily said than done. 

** To Be Continued… **


	3. Kare Kanojo no Jijo: Part 3

**Kare Kanojo no Jijo: Part 3**

By KnightHunter 

Angelina couldn't sleep. She was too excited, too nervous, and too afraid of what might happen the next day. 

_ 'Of all the ways to confess your love to someone, it had to be part of a joke!'_ she berated herself as she stared at the maroon canopy which hung over her bed. She flipped over, and fought with the many blankets and sheets that seemed to be smothering her. 

She groaned loudly as she buried her head in her pillow. "Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!" she shouted angrily into the pillows as she kicked her blankets off of her legs. 

"Angelina, are you up already?" Katie's groggy voice sounded muffled from underneath a pile of blankets in the bed next to Angelina's. "It's only midnight." 

"Sorry," Angelina whispered as she flipped over to stare at the ceiling. "Can't sleep." 

"Must stink to be you," Katie mumbled, as she buried herself more deeply in her blankets and drifted off to sleep. 

Angelina closed her eyes and tried to will herself to sleep. After waiting for what seemed like an eternity, she opened her eyes and glanced at her watch. Only five minutes had passed. "When will this night ever end?" 

Angelina groaned loudly as she rolled over onto her stomach, pushing a few pillows off of the bed for good measure. As she buried her face into the mattress a pillow flew in her direction and landed on top of her head. 

"Will just you go to sleep?" Katie whispered angrily. "I can't sleep with you tossing about all night!" 

"Good, then I won't suffer alone," Angelina retorted as she once more turned over to lie on her back. "If I can't sleep NO one will!" Angelina shouted loudly, causing random complaints and muffled murmurs from her formerly sleeping roommates. 

"Just forget about whatever's bothering you until the morning. You'll get to sleep," Katie ordered, chucking another pillow at Angelina. 

"Yes, mother," Angelina replied meekly as she tossed Katie's pillows back to her. "Good night." 

"Just go to bloody sleep! G'night!" Katie said as she burrowed under her blankets, dragging her pillows with her. 

Angelina took a deep breath and closed her eyes. _ 'Just forget,' _she thought to herself, forcing her body to relax. _ 'Fred will be there in the morning.'_

******************************************************** 

"Hey, rise and shine," called Katie cheerfully as she tapped Angelina on the shoulder. "The early bird decided to sleep in today, then?" she continued as she proceeded to pull her hair into a low ponytail. 

Angelina sat up and rubbed her eyes. "What time is it?" The sun was already up; and most of the girls who shared the room with she and Katie were already up and gone. 

"Time to eat," Katie answered as she grabbed her robes and left the room. 

Angelina glanced at her watch: she had thirty minutes until classes began for the day. She quickly got out of bed and dressed swiftly. She swept her hair into a ponytail as she grabbed her school bag and hastily stepped into her shoes before rushing to the Great Hall. 

She surveyed the Gryffindor table. Most of the students had already gone, headed towards their first classes. Usually at that time the only students left in the hall were the late risers or the students who had escaped from early morning detentions. She had expected to see Fred, who was, almost without fail, the last Gryffindor to rise every morning. However, his usual seat between George and Lee was empty. 

"Hey, Angelina!" George called out as he waved his arm madly. 

"Morning, George," she said as she sat down across from him. "Where's Fred?" 

"What? Not with you?" George asked her, wearing a puzzled expression. 

"What do you mean?" Angelina asked, reaching for a slice of toast. 

"I told him about your early morning habits and so he got up early this morning to meet you at the Quidditch field." 

"You didn't," Angelina said in disbelief, shaking her head. 

"I did," George confirmed as he nodded, a huge smile on his face. "Bet the poor boy's still out there waiting for you." 

Angelina stared at George for a moment. "He wouldn't." 

"He would," George replied, as he finished his juice with a loud slurp and stood up. "I don't know what to tell you. It's incredibly funny." 

"In a sad, pathetic, and hopelessly romantic sort of way," Lee chimed in as he rose and slapped George on the shoulder. 

Angelina threw her spoon at George whilst simultaneously kicking Lee in the shin. "Don't you have other people to bother?" she asked as she shot them a threatening look. 

"At least she hasn't lost her touch," George laughed, watching as Lee hopped around, clutching his leg. 

"Shut up, George!" Lee howled as he continued to hobble around. "Why did you kick me? He started it!" 

Angelina ignored him as she quickly finished her breakfast, gathered her things, and headed towards the Quidditch field. It was deserted. The stands were empty. The locker room was locked. Angelina's heart sank: Fred obviously wasn't there._ 'George just told me that because he knew I'd come out here looking for Fred,' _she thought to herself angrily. 

Angelina looked at her watch. She had been so preoccupied with searching the Quidditch field that she hadn't kept track of the time and was now was fifteen minutes late for her first class. She sprinted back to the school, rushed down the main corridor, flew up the staircase, skipping the steps three at a time, and pivoted madly around a corner, her black robes flapping behind her furiously. She was running so quickly that she didn't realise that someone had suddenly appeared in her path until it was too late. 

************************************************* 

As the latest riser in his family, Fred rarely woke up before sunrise. He tried to avoid morning detentions due to the fact that he could never wake up in time to serve them. He was always the last Gryffindor to breakfast; and would probably even have managed to sleep through morning Quidditch practices if it wasn't for one extremely determined Oliver Wood armed with a bucketful of water and some highly imaginative curses. Whether it was due to the lack of sleep the night before, or the fact that he had woken up before dawn that morning, Fred just wasn't himself. 

He had spent hours pacing around the chilly Quidditch field before had he finally concluded that George had probably been lying about Angelina's early morning flying habits. Feeling disappointed and horribly embarrassed, he had sat down in the stands to watch the sunrise, but had fallen asleep instead. If it hadn't been for Hagrid waking him up, he would have slept through his first classes. He dragged himself through the corridors, the usual spring in his step missing. He was so quiet that Snape had marked him absent before someone had pointed out that Fred was indeed in class. Halfway through his opening lecture, Snape, completely unnerved by Fred's silence, stormed up to his table. 

"What is wrong with you, Weasley?" Snape demanded, his eyes narrowed. 

Fred slowly looked up, his pale face solemn, his blue eyes missing the bright light they usually carried. "Nothing," he replied with a sigh. 

"Infirmary. Now." Snape barked as he turned his back on Fred. 

"What?" Fred asked incredulously as he stared at Snape's retreating form. 

"Mr. Weasley, get to the infirmary so that whatever hex, curse, or jinx you are suffering from can be fixed. Although I'm not entirely unsure that you aren't improved greatly by it." 

"I'm not..." Fred cut his protest short as Snape glared at him. "Alright, I'm going." 

"I just didn't get any sleep," he mumbled to himself as he gathered his books and stuffed them into his cauldron. "I don't need to go to the infirmary." 

"Did you have something to say, Mr. Weasley?" 

"Straight to the infirmary," Fred said obediently as he headed for the door. He barely managed to stifle a yawn as he stepped into the corridor._ 'Maybe I can convince Madam Pomfrey to let me take a nap,' _he thought to himself. However, as he walked in the direction of the infirmary he was completely knocked off of his feet when someone collided into him. He looked up, realised who it was, and smiled for the first time that morning. 

Angelina was staring at him as if she had just tackled a Basilisk. She continued to stare for a moment, then quickly stood up and offered him her hand. 

He took her hand and stood. "Looking for Fred?" Fred asked, still smiling brightly. 

Instead of returning his smile or laughing like she usually would have, Angelina stared at the floor. His smile quickly faded. "Alright, then? Didn't bruise yourself or anything?" 

She just shook her head, still refusing to look up. 

Fred suddenly realised that he was still holding Angelina's hand. He quickly dropped the hand, feeling the heat rise to his face. He laughed nervously, raking his fingers through his hair. 

There was an awkward silence as they both stood there, refusing to look each other in the eye. 

"So...in a hurry?" Fred asked as he looked down the hallway behind her. 

Angelina nodded. She slowly raised her head. "Well, I..." She stopped short and her eyes widened. She side stepped around him and bolted down the hallway. 

"Weasley." Snape's voice sounded from behind Fred, causing him to wince. "Interesting collision, yet you seem to be relatively unharmed." 

Fred turned around to see Snape leaning against the doorframe, his arms crossed. 

"Feeling better?" Snape inquired, raising an eyebrow. 

Fred just nodded quickly, a large grin on his face. As he picked up his scattered belongings he said, "Let me guess, ten points for pretending to be sick, ten points for disturbing your class, five points for inappropriate conduct, and a week of detention to tie the whole package together." 

"Very good, Mr. Weasley," Snape said approvingly as he turned and walked back in to the classroom. "You can join your brother tomorrow morning in my classroom. Be sure to dress warmly." 

******************* 

"She gave you two weeks of detention?" Katie asked Angelina as they walked side by side towards the Quidditch field. 

"I was twenty minutes late for class. I'm glad that's all I got." 

"Why were you so late?" 

"I was at the Quidditch field looking for..." she stopped short, not wanting to tell Katie why she had been there. 

"At the Quidditch field looking for what, exactly?" 

"Oh nothing," Angelina replied hastily. "I found what I was looking for on my way back to class." 

"Fine, don't tell me," Katie said light-heartedly, a knowing smirk on her face. 

They stopped outside the locker room and waited for the other Gryffindor team members. In a few minutes Alicia arrived, still dressed in her usual uniform. 

"My class ran late. I didn't have time to change," Alicia explained as she dropped her book bag onto the ground next to the locker room door. 

"Hello ladies!" Fred called out as he walked towards the group. 

"Hey Fred," Angelina said as he stood next to her. "Not mad? About this morning?" 

"What happened this morning?" Katie asked, elbowing Fred in the side. 

"It's not every day a bloke gets ploughed over by a beautiful girl; but when you're accidentally tackled by someone you expect some kind of apology," Fred said. 

"Who did what with whom?" George asked as he showed up dragging two Cleansweep Sevens behind him. 

"Angelina attacked Fred this morning," Katie answered with a smile. 

"Again?" George said with a laugh. 

"Again?" Katie and Alicia chorused in confusion. 

"Second time this week," George explained mockingly, as he shook his head. "She attacked him yesterday, too." 

Instead of laughing, Fred glared at George and stomped off angrily. Angelina looked at George as if she was about to kill him. 

"Was it something I said?" George asked dejectedly as he sat down on the ground with a sigh. 

"Sometimes it's best just not to ask," Alicia told Katie, who just nodded in agreement. 

"Perfect Quidditch weather, ain't it?" Oliver asked as he approached his team. 

"Better than rain, sleet, heavy winds, or snow," Katie replied as she reached for her broom. "All of which, to you, is still 'perfect' Quidditch weather." 

"Good one," Alicia smirked as she gave Katie a high five. "Hello, Oliver." 

"Alicia," Oliver grinned as he tilted his gaze in her direction. "Class ran late, then?" 

"And you're the last one to practice?" Alicia countered. "Sounds suspicious." 

"Only to you," Oliver said with a wink as he threw her the key to the girls' changing room. 

"Alright, grab your gloves and shin guards," Oliver commanded as he unlocked the door to the boys' changing area. "Once you ladies are ready, start off with a few laps around the pitch, and then begin working on that basket weave play I showed you yesterday." 

"Yes, sir!" Angelina said, mock-saluting as she did an about face and marched into the locker room holding her broom over her shoulder like a rifle. 

"I worry. I seriously worry about you," Katie said as she followed her friend into the locker room, shaking her head and wondering why Angelina was walking so strangely. 

Oliver walked into the locker room. Completely oblivious to the fact that Fred was angrily staring at George and that George was nervously eyeing the exit, he continued issuing orders. 

"Since we don't have a Seeker we can't hold a decent scrimmage," Oliver said as he opened the trunk that held the practice balls and grabbed the Quaffle. "Today I just want you two to work on your flying. Your Cleansweeps have you at a disadvantage, so I want you to be on your best form out there." 

The girls left their changing area and took to the air, circling the pitch. After a few laps Oliver tossed the Quaffle into the air. Alicia immediately scooped it into her arms and swiftly passed it to Katie while Angelina circled the Gryffindor goal post. As they flew towards her, Angelina increased speed and flew in between them. As she passed by, Katie handed the Quaffle to Angelina. Then all three of them performed sharp pivot and shot off in opposite directions. Angelina flew in a straight line towards the goal post that was being guarded by Oliver. She aimed and tossed it towards the goal. Oliver deflected the Quaffle with ease. All three chasers groaned as they watched the ball fall towards the center of the pitch. 

"Try it again!" Oliver called out from the goal post. "Katie and Alicia, fly closer together! We don't want our opponents to notice that Angelina has the Quaffle until after she's in the scoring area!" 

Fred circled around above one of the stands before going into a dive. He levelled out just inches from the ground, then shot forward, skimming the grass. As he reached the edge of the pitch, he climbed upwards until he was nearly flying vertically. He leaned back and caused the broom to flip upside down. As he rolled to his left before righting himself again he noticed that George was mirroring him move for move. He flew over to George. 

"Not bad," George commented as he looked over to watch the girls repeat their play. "What's up with you?" 

"You know," Fred replied angrily. 

"I don't," George said honestly. 

"Forget it," Fred ordered as he flew off towards the opposite end of the pitch. 

"I don't know what I'm supposed to forget!" George called out after him. Sighing he flew over to Oliver. 

"The play's coming out beautifully, Oliver. Give it about, oh, seventy-five more run-throughs. They'll have it perfect." 

"It's pretty much a lost cause," Oliver said despairingly as he shook his head. "How are we going to get to the finals without a seeker?" 

"You'll find someone," George said comfortingly as he watched his brother dive behind the stands. "But if I were you, I'd just pick anybody. The first game of the year's coming up soon." 

"Yeah, it might come down to that," Oliver sighed as he blocked an attempted shot by Alicia. 

"This is bloody boring: no Bludger beating," George complained. 

"Want to play a quick game of Shuntbumps?" Oliver asked as he nodded over in the girls' direction. 

"Shuntbumps!" George shouted loudly, a look of shock on his face. "You! Oliver "Quidditch-is-my-only-joy-in-life" Wood wants to play Shuntbumps? Well, I never!" 

"Practice is about over anyway," Oliver pointed out with a shrug. He motioned for the others to join them. "Since we're about finished here, I thought we could play a game of Shuntbumps before dinner." 

Alicia looked at George suspiciously, who quickly pointed at Oliver. "It was his idea, I swear!" 

Angelina looked confused. She flew next to Fred and whispered: "Shuntbumps?" 

Fred realised that she was too embarrassed to ask the others how to play the game; she didn't even know what it was. He flew in closer so that only she would be able to hear him. "Shuntbumps. A kid's game. You try to knock everyone off of his or her broom. The last one flying wins." 

"Oh. Like King of the Mountain?" Angelina asked. 

"Like what?" he asked, holding on to Angelina's broom so she wouldn't drift out of whispering distance. 

"Children's game. Someone stands on the top of a high place, and everyone tries to take that person's place. Once you get pushed off of the top of the 'mountain' you're out. Last one standing wins," Angelina explained. 

"Sounds like fun," Fred responded as he leaned in closer still. "A word of advice: don't fly any higher than you'd like to fall." 

She nodded, suddenly appearing to be more interested in staring at the ground. 

"You two ready?" Katie called over, causing them to jump. 

"Ready," Fred confirmed, scooting away from Angelina and blushing slightly. 

"Yeah, ready" Angelina agreed. 

Oliver held the Quaffle out in front of him. "When the Quaffle hits the ground, anything goes." 

******************* 

Twenty minutes later Angelina sighed as she stared up at the sky. "I suppose we're both out then." 

"That man is mental!" Fred agreed as he rolled onto his back. "Taking two people out at once!" 

"Hey! I would have gotten away if he hadn't swung you into me!" Angelina laughed softly. "And I almost had George there." 

"Yeah, and me too," Fred observed as he stood up. "Alright?" 

" A bit dazed," Angelina admitted as she sat upright. They both started as they heard a high-pitched and blood curdling scream followed by maniacal laughter from over their heads. 

They looked skywards just in time to watch Oliver shoot forward and slam into George a second time, sending the redhead to the ground. 

"Ow," George groaned as he sat up and shook his head. 

"Here," Fred offered Angelina his hand. 

"Thanks," as Angelina stood, their eyes met, causing them both to blush. 

"Aw," Katie, who had been first out of the game, called out. "They're blushing." 

"Am not!" they protested in unison, quickly turning away from each other. 

"Yes you are," George pointed out. "Angelina's ears always turn dark red when she blushes. You told me that, remember, Fred?" 

"It's pretty obvious when Fred blushes, but you've got to know where to look to catch her," Katie chimed in, offering George a hand. 

"No thanks," George shook his head. "I'd prefer not to stand right now." 

"Stop being such a baby," Katie scolded, grabbing George by the arms and pulling him to his feet. "See? Nothing's broken." 

"I think it's about time for dinner," Fred decided as he picked up his broom. 

"Yeah, I'm starved," Katie agreed, heading for the showers. 

"But they're still up there," Angelina noted as she pointed upward. Oliver and Alicia were still playing, chasing each other and trying to oust the other from their broom. 

"They're both too stubborn to lose, much less to let the other win. They'll get bored of playing 'catch you, catch me' eventually, and call it a draw," George predicted as he too began to leave the field. 

Angelina turned to follow Katie. Suddenly, Fred reached out and grabbed her arm. "Wait," 

"What?" Angelina asked nervously, not wanting to turn around. 

"You...you don't fly around the field every morning. Do you?" Fred asked. 

"I do normally, but not today: I overslept," Angelina told him. 

"Oh," Fred responded quietly, letting go of her arm. 

"Is that all that you wanted to know?" Angelina asked as she heard him walk away from her. 

"Yeah." His voice sounded further away. 

"About yesterday…" She turned to face him; his back was turned yet he was frozen in place. 

"Don't worry about it. It was a good joke," Fred's lighthearted tone of voice sounded forced. 

"It wasn't. It was a horrible joke. I shouldn't have done it," Angelina said as she stepped towards him. 

"George and Lee explained everything. You just wanted to give me my letter back. Thanks," Fred answered quickly as he continued to walk forward. Angelina stared blankly as she watched him walk into the changing room. 

***************************** 

"You really are an idiot," George told his twin as he watched Fred walk into the locker room. 

"You overheard?" Fred said as he pulled off his gloves and threw them into his locker. 

"Every pathetic word," George confirmed as he finished changing into his Hogwarts uniform. "Thanks?" 

Fred smiled at him. "Well, I am glad she gave it back." 

"I worry about you brother, I really do," George said as he shook his head. 

******************************** 

"I can't believe it!" Angelina shouted as she threw her things into her locker. "Of all the thick-headed, ridiculous...isn't it so obvious? To everyone but him, I suppose!" she ranted as she slammed the door to her locker and began to pace around the room. 

"What's going on?" Katie said as she grabbed Angelina by her shoulders and held her still. "You've been acting strange all week. You've been avoiding Fred and bickering with George. Then yesterday you couldn't sleep a wink and then you overslept today. You were twenty minutes late to Alchemy. That's not like you." 

Angelina quickly recounted the events of the past few days to Katie, finishing with her last conversation with Fred. 

"So he's in love with you?" Katie asked as Angelina finished her story. 

"Yeah, but he doesn't think I love him," Angelina replied bitterly. "Because of that stupid joke." 

"He knows alright," Katie stated as she let go of Angelina's shoulders. "But if he's anything like George he probably wants to let you confess your feelings differently." 

"What's that supposed to mean?" Angelina asked. 

"After your first confession, you felt unsure about the way you went about it. You even told him that you regretted telling him in a way - you apologised for that joke. He won't accept that you like him if he doesn't think you're sure," Katie explained with a shrug. 

"What about George?" 

"What about him?" Katie asked with a wink. "You have your Weasley to worry about, I have mine." 

** To Be Continued**


	4. Kare Kanojo no Jijo: Part 4

**Kare Kanojo no Jijo:**

Part 4

By KnightHunter

"Why are you chasing me?" Oliver screamed as he bolted frantically down the Charms corridor. 

"Because you're running away!" Alicia shouted in reply, sprinting after him. 

"Leave me alone!" Oliver yelled, knocking over a small statue in an attempt to slow her pursuit. 

"Stop running!" Alicia shouted menacingly as she jumped over the statue and tackled Oliver to the ground. 

"You're mental! Let go of me!" Oliver cried to no avail as she began to hit him repeatedly. 

"Results of today's experiment?" George asked as he watched the confrontation. 

"I'd say it was a success," Fred said as he tapped the stack of parchment in his hands with his quill. 

"How many did she eat?" George enquired in a scientific manner as he watched Alicia twist Oliver's arm behind his back. 

"About eight," Fred said as he looked over at the pair. "She's rather wound up." 

" What about Oliver?" George asked with a laugh. 

"Only one. Poor bloke. They really don't seem to do anything unless you eat at least five." 

" And Katie?" George asked with a shudder. 

"Fifteen," Fred answered, laughing loudly. 

"I thought she was going to kill me!" George said dramatically as he shook his head from side to side. 

"It was quite funny." Fred continued to laugh as he slapped George on the shoulder. "You scream like a girl!" 

"You do too," George said with a pout. 

"No, I don't. I have a slightly more masculine scream." Fred stated in a matter-of-fact manner. 

"So, what do you think we should call them?" George asked, shaking a bag full of shiny red pill-shaped sweets. 

"How about Violence Pills?" Fred suggested. 

"No. Sounds too unappealing. How about Red Hot Incense Tablets?" George asked. 

"Sound good," Fred agreed as he wrote the name down. 

"Looks like it's starting to wear off," George noted, nodding in Alicia and Oliver's direction. Alicia was fretting over Oliver's injuries while Oliver was staring at her with a dazed expression on his face. 

"Now all we have to test is the new stink gel formula, the bubble lotion, and the shock oil," Fred concluded as he looked at his list. 

"Don't forget the Madness Mist," George reminded him. 

"Oh yeah." Fred reached into his pocket and pulled out a small white smoke bomb. "Hopefully it'll be more stable in this form." 

"So far everything's been working; except for the melting potion." 

"Don't remind me," Fred said, shaking his head. 

"Hey, doesn't Slytherin have the Quidditch field booked right now?" George asked, a mischievous look on his face. 

"I do believe so," Fred said with a sly smile. 

******************************* 

"No." 

"Yeah, and then Flint was convinced that he was being chased by a monster," Fred said gleefully. "He was flying around screaming and crying. Bletchley was convinced that the sand on the pitch was sugar." 

"You're kidding," Angelina said, grinning happily. 

"No, honestly. He just sat there, shovelling handful after handful into his mouth, grinning like an idiot," Fred told her as they entered the library. "You should have seen their faces after the mist wore off." 

"You and your experiments. I'll never forget what you did to Violet," Angelina said as she set her books on a table by the window. 

"Violet?" Fred sounded confused as he sat in the chair opposite to hers. 

"She used to be Snowy, remember?" Angelina asked as she raised an eyebrow. 

"I think the purple suits her," Fred said with a smile. 

"Shut up, Fred," Angelina replied, returning the smile. 

Fred reached in his pocket and pulled out a list. "So, I have to read these books for tomorrow's homework?" 

Angelina nodded. Every Tuesday afternoon they would meet in the library to study. Fred inevitably paid little attention in Potions classes: he infinitely preferred to spend the time devising cruel and unusual ways to torment Snape. Angelina would provide missed class notes and details of homework assignments in return for Fred's occasional assistance with Alchemy, which she struggled with, and Divination, where Fred's imaginative suggestions for one to be horribly maimed or killed were invaluable in obtaining good marks from Professor Trelawney. The current third year were remarkable in that theirs was the only year to date in which not one but two students had been informed of their impending deaths. However, the staff had reluctantly dismissed the prospect of the demise of the Weasley twins as wishful thinking on the Divination professor's behalf rather than any sort of genuine prediction. 

"I'm fairly sure you that know the first book on the list off by heart," Angelina informed him as she took the list from him. " I mean, you used all twenty-five potions in that book during your first year. Including one completely irreversible potion, might I add." 

Fred winced. "You're going to hold that bloody cat over my head forever, aren't you?" 

"Probably," Angelina said with a smile. She pulled out her Alchemy textbook, _The Hermes Theory_ by Hermes Trismegistus, opened the book and laid it flat. Then she reached into her book bag and pulled out two tiny reddish-coloured stones. "I can manage to change the colour of them no problem, but I can't seem to get the formula right." 

Despite being a good student in other areas, Angelina found Alchemy rather difficult and not particularly interesting. There had recently been debate over whether the subject was relevant or not in the modern wizarding world, with accompanying rumours that it might even be abolished as an O.W.L subject and only be taught to older students taking their N.E.W.Ts. The very idea was enough to make Angelina regret sincerely not being born a few years later in order to have avoided the subject altogether. However, Fred showed a surprising aptitude for the subject, and even seemed to enjoy it. 

"Did you add chromium?" Fred asked as he picked up the redder one and flipped it over. 

Angelina nodded as she watched him inspect the stone. After a moment, he placed it on the table in front of him. 

"Watch," Fred told her, grabbing his wand. He tapped the stone three times, each time muttering the words "_Dispellere solidus_ ". He spoke so softly that she could barely hear what he was saying. 

Fred smiled and tossed the stone towards her. She caught it. Instead of a stone, she held a brilliant ruby in the shape of a teardrop. She examined it closely: when she held it up to the light, a sparkling star pattern could be seen at its centre. It was a true star ruby; a ruby infused with magic, not just a transfigured rock. "How?" 

"You had all the right ingredients; they were just all packed too closely together. So I broke them up a bit and they did the rest on their own." He pushed the textbook out of the way, and slid the other stone in front of her. "You try." 

"_Dispellere solidus_?" Angelina asked as she reached for her wand. 

"Yeah, just don't say it with too much force. Overdo it and the stone will shatter," Fred warned. 

She tapped the rock three times and repeated the incantation as softly as she could. She looked down and saw that she had turned her stone into a similar magical gem. 

"Now let me show you how to turn a stone into a star ruby... without cheating," Fred said with a wink. "Let me see the formula you used." 

She passed her notes over to him. 

"Too much chromium. Just like I thought," Fred concluded as he reached for his quill and made the correction. "I'd add a bit more Mithril, just to add to the magical properties, but other than that your formula looks fine." 

"Thanks Fred," Angelina said softly. 

"It's no problem," Fred replied with a shrug. He reached for one of his quills and began to draw a smiley face on the cover of his Potions book. 

Angelina sighed as she watched him sketch and doodle on the book cover, his face a picture of mock seriousness. _ 'Two weeks ago, I found out that he loved me,'_ she thought to herself as she continued to watch him. _'But I haven't been able to tell him that I feel the same way about him, because he won't let me.'_

"What?" Fred asked as he looked up. 

"What?" Angelina repeated, rapidly shaking herself from her thoughts. 

"You were staring at me," Fred said, pointing his quill at her. 

"I was not," Angelina retorted defensively. 

"My mistake," Fred said light-heartedly as he returned to defacing his book cover. 

"Fred?" Angelina asked as she pulled the decorated book from his hands. 

"Yes?" Fred asked smiling. 

"I want to tell you something," she said as she looked down at the book in her hands. 

"I want to ask you something first," Fred countered as he took the book back out of her hands and put it down on the table. 

"What?" Angelina asked him anxiously. 

He pulled out a small vial filled with a strange glowing liquid. He shook it slightly and it began to change colour. 

"We made this stuff yesterday. Don't know what it does; can't really remember what we put in it, actually. I was thinking about calling it Risky Liquid. What do you think?" Fred enquired as he held the vial out towards her. 

She stared at him a moment. "Risky Liquid?" she asked angrily. 

"Yeah. I thought about adding it to the Wheezes order form just for a laugh. I mean, we made loads of this stuff. It would be a waste to throw it all out." 

"I don't know why I try anymore," Angelina huffed as she began to gather her books. 

"What did you want to tell me?" Fred asked as he put the vial back into his pocket. 

She slammed her palms on the table and glared at him. "Never mind! You don't really care." 

"I do. You know I do," Fred told her as she sighed angrily. "What was it you wanted to say? I won't change the subject this time, I promise." He grabbed her wrist as she tried to leave. 

"I've been trying to tell you for two weeks, Fred," she said as she wrenched free of his grasp. "I suppose that since you always want to change the subject, come out with another one of your stupid jokes, or pull one of your idiotic pranks... maybe you've had a change of heart." 

"Angelina," Fred said as he reached to take her hand. 

"Don't!" Angelina shouted as she stepped away from him. "Just leave me alone," she added as she rushed out of the library. 

"I just don't understand women," Fred said gloomily as he sat down at the table and buried his head in his hands. 

********************** 

"Still avoiding him I see," Katie observed smugly as they walked down the chilly school corridor. 

Angelina tightened her lips and frowned as she looked over her shoulder. Fred was standing at the end of the corridor, leaning against a stone column. He noticed her turning round and shyly waved in her direction. 

_'Why can't he take the hint and stop following me? It's just pathetic,'_ she thought to herself angrily as she turned away, pretending not to notice. 

"I think it's cute," Katie continued, nudging her friend. Angelina jumped. She hadn't realised that she had spoken her thoughts out loud. 

"You don't understand," Angelina sighed as they entered their History of Magic classroom. 

"I never do. That doesn't mean I can't stick my nose in and meddle," Katie replied as they took seats at the back of the class. "At least you could try to explain why you're avoiding him." 

"I can't stand him. He's loud, annoying, selfish, and inconsiderate. He plays around too much, and I'm sick of being involved in his childish pranks," Angelina listed quickly as she rummaged through her book bag. 

"He is loud and annoying, but it's never bothered you before," Katie pointed out. "Anyway, that doesn't seem like a good reason for you to avoid the poor boy for three weeks." 

"I've tolerated him to a point, but I have to draw the line somewhere." Angelina sounded annoyed as she slammed her textbook the desk. "I'm just tired of being his friend." 

Katie's eyebrow shot skyward as she looked at Angelina, a sly smirk on her face. "Oh really?" she asked as she leaned in closer. "I think you might be tired of being 'just friends' with him." 

Angelina glared at her, but didn't reply. 

"I've got your number now, Ms. Johnson," Katie whispered as Professor Binns began his class. "Since you haven't tried to argue, I must be right." 

"Shut it," Angelina hissed as she tried to step on Katie's foot. 

"Fine. Okay, I won't talk about him anymore," Katie promised, moving her foot out of range. "But you know what's happening next week." 

"Don't remind me," Angelina said as she began to read her textbook. 

"What would you like?" Katie asked, smiling. 

"Peace and quiet," Angelina rejoined sarcastically. 

"That's hard to get something at Hogwarts," Katie said, opening her notebook. 

"Surprise me then," Angelina said as she continued to flick through her history textbook. 

"I wonder what the Weasleys are going to pull for your birthday this year," Katie mused as Angelina glared at her. 

"I said don't remind me." Angelina smirked in triumph as she successfully stepped on Katie's foot. Katie yelped and covered her mouth with her hands, her dark hazel eyes watering. Professor Binns continued to lecture, completely oblivious. 

As they left the classroom, Katie noticed a familiar redhead staring at the classroom entrance from further along the corridor. 

"Which one is that?" Katie asked as she pointed down the corridor. "Yours or mine?" Katie winced as Angelina jabbed her in the side with her elbow. 

Angelina looked over where Katie had pointed. It was Fred. He was looking at them with a small wistful smile on his face. He didn't wave: he was pretending not to notice that she was looking back at him. She was sure he was Fred. She could tell just by the look in his eyes. 

Even though Fred and George appeared to be identical down to their freckles, they had many differences: they smiled differently; George was slightly taller, and his hair was always a bit more unruly; Fred was a little bit skinnier than his brother, and he spoke more rapidly and more frequently. George had a habit of running his hand through his hair when he was deep in thought, which was often. If someone had asked her which twin could stay still the longest, she would have said Fred. George was constantly in motion. Either he was tapping his feet, fidgeting in his chair, pulling on the edges of his robes, or pulling on his ears. Compared to his brother, Fred was a study in stillness. He rarely fidgeted, except when he was nervous. 

Angelina had noticed those differences in the first year she had known them. Most people didn't. Fred had told her that's how it was for identical twins. Even though the differences were there, most people didn't try to find even the most obvious of them. It was just easier to claim ignorance and randomly guess. 

Angelina and Katie watched as Lee and George appeared out of nowhere. The mischievous pair crept up behind Fred and viciously tackled him: slamming him into the ground as they laughed wildly. George pushed Fred's head to the floor before looking up at the girls and waved happily. 

"I'm guessing that the one who just got tackled was your stalker," Katie said with a laugh as she waved back. 

Angelina sighed. "Of course." 

********************** 

It was Angelina's birthday, and Fred hadn't seen her all day. It seemed as if she was trying even harder to avoid him, and with good reason. Last year for her birthday, both Weasleys had presented her with gag presents filled with Dungbombs and sweet sour bitter cakes. They had spent the entire day pulling outrageous stunts and pranks. By the end of the day Angelina was tired, harassed, annoyed, stank (from the Dungbombs), and had a constant bitter sweet and sour taste in her mouth that lasted for several hours. 

This year, George and Lee had planned to jinx her quills so that no matter what ink she used they would refuse to write. Unfortunately, hadn't performed the spell properly and had spent the entire morning mute, much to the satisfaction of Professors Flitwick and McGonagall, whose classes had been rather more peaceful than usual. 

Fred on the other hand, hadn't even spoken to Angelina once that day. He had hoped that she would be talking to him by now. No chance. He had tried everything he could think of for the past few weeks, but she had continued to pretend not to see or hear him. 

He kept trying. He was like a man obsessed: he had never lost a friend, and he wasn't going to lose her. During Quidditch practice, he was so desperate to attract her attention that he hurled Bludger after Bludger in her direction. He planted Dungbombs in her book bag, covered her hairbrush with shock gel, and threw assorted trick bombs into her cauldron in Potions, which only resulted in him incurring the wrath of Snape and earning several (early morning) detentions. He even went so far as to kidnap Violet. Angelina never gave him as much as a second look. She was too skilled as a flier to be bothered by the Bludgers. She knew the counter spells to every Weasley Wheeze made over the past two years from memory. And, much to Fred's dismay, she never made any attempt to get her cat back. 

"Come on, Fred! Lighten up a bit, will you?" George said as he shook his brother by the shoulders. Fred had been sitting in the common room for an hour, blankly staring at the door. 

"Staring at the entrance isn't going to make her suddenly appear," Lee told him as he sat on the couch next to Fred. 

"Wishful thinking, that's all," Fred admitted sheepishly. He hadn't even realised that he had been looking at the door. 

"Really?" Lee asked as he rolled his eyes. 

"I glad he's finally gotten past the whole stalking phase," George said with a chuckle. 

" Arithmancy should be over with by now," Fred muttered impatiently as his gaze drifted back to the doorway, causing both Lee and George to sigh loudly. 

"Just give up, George. It's a lost cause. We've lost him," Lee said as he placed his hand on Fred's shoulder. "He's trapped by the wiles of a woman; there's no helping him now." 

"Poor bloke. He used to be such a great guy," George added solemnly as he put his hand on Fred's other shoulder. "So much fun to be around. Isn't that right, Fred?" 

"Uh, hmm. Fun," Fred muttered in agreement as he continued to look longingly at the entrance to the common room. 

"That's it," George said loudly. "On three?" 

Lee nodded. "Two." 

"One!" George shouted as they both shoved as hard as they could, sending Fred tumbling to the floor. 

"I can't believe he actually had his guard down," George said laughing loudly. 

"Around us of all people," Lee laughed in agreement. 

Fred jumped to his feet and looked at his watch. "Maybe she's already in the Great Hall." 

"This has to stop," Lee decided. "The boy has lost it." 

Fred ignored his friends as he left the common room and walked quickly up the stairs leading to his dormitory. He was promptly greeted by a grating mewling sound. 

"Aw. Did you miss me?" Fred asked the small cat that was impatiently pacing on his bed. As if in reply, the cat began to meow more loudly, her sky blue eyes fixed intently on him. 

"Well, were did I put it?" Fred asked the cat as he searched through his desk. The dark purple feline leaped on to the desk and began to scatter anything that was light enough for her to move. She suddenly stopped and meowed at him. 

Clutched between her paws was the item that Fred was looking for. 

"Thanks, sweets. You're an angel," Fred said as he scratched her behind the ears. "I'll steal you some tuna from the kitchen, or something nice like that." 

Violet seemed content with the small amount of attention and the promise of fine food. She settled contentedly on the top of the desk, lazily swatting at one of Fred's quills. Fred shoved a small hastily wrapped present into his robe pocket and rushed towards the Great Hall. 

He tightly clutched the present that he had put so much thought into. "This is it," Fred thought to himself as he walked quickly towards the great hall. "I have to put things right. Today." 

He was so busy thinking about what he was going to say to Angelina that he wasn't paying attention to where he was walking. And so, he walked right into a professor, knocking the man over. He might have been able to apologise and continue walking, but the professor that he had collided with was Snape. 

"Where are you going in such a hurry, Weasley?" Snape asked as he pulled himself up from the ground. He scowled angrily at Fred. 

"I-" 

"Five points from Gryffindor," Snape snapped, interrupting any answer Fred could have given him. "And for whatever mischief you were plotting when you barged into me, detention. Starting right now." 

Fred gaped at him. "But I-" He sighed in defeat. "Can't I go to dinner first?" 

"You may get a plate from the kitchen after detention is finished," Snape said as he turned and continued to walk down the hallway. 

Fred sighed. Desperate times called for desperate measures. He waited until Snape had turned a corner and fished his wand out from his robes. He pointed the wand over his head and intoned "_Evanescere._" He felt a strange sensation fill his body, along with a slight dizziness. He looked down at his hand, which, along with the wand that it held, was no longer visible. In fact, he was completely invisible. The vanishing spell was a powerful one, and the success rate was very low. What Fred hadn't realised was that the spell not only made a person invisible, but also inaudible and intangible. He rushed down the corridor, his footsteps making no sound, not even disturbing the dust on the floor. He passed Snape, who was looking around furiously for him, reached the large door of the Great Hall, and pushed on it. It would not open. He shouted in frustration, but no sound could be heard. He tried to perform the counter spell to no effect: he had no voice with which to speak the incantation. It would have to be cast by someone else. 

******************************************** 

"So, what did you get Angelina for her birthday?" Fred heard Lee ask George as they approached him. 

"Her cat." George nodded towards the large box he was carrying. "So what did you get her?" 

"A new set of quills," Lee said with a smile. 

George paused as he walked past Fred. He turned and looked directly at his twin. And smiled. 

"Uh, George?" Lee asked as he looked around George. "Why are you smiling at that wall?" 

"I just noticed something. I'll tell you about it later," George replied as he motioned for them to go into the hall. After both himself and Lee had entered, he continued to hold the door open. "Coming in?" he said directly to Fred, who was absolutely furious. 

_Change me back!_ Fred shouted as he followed his friends into the hall, but to no avail. Somehow George knew that he was there, but simply chose not to do anything about it. 

He watched George and Lee as they presented their gifts to Angelina. The cat inside the box made a big show after Angelina released her by flying in George's direction and latching on to the front of his shirt, hissing angrily, and swatting at his face. It took Angelina several attempts to free him from the furious animal's clutches. Everyone laughed as the cat hopped onto the table and pranced proudly in front of Angelina. 

"I see Fred took good care of her," Angelina said with a laugh as she sat down and scratched her cat behind the ears. Violet settled happily into her owner's lap. 

Lee backed a good distance away from Angelina and her cat before tossing his gift towards her. 

"I bet that it's to replace those quills they ruined this morning," Katie predicted smugly. 

"I'm quite sure that's what they are," Angelina said as she put the box into her book bag. "I'll open this one later, just in case," she added with a wink. 

The dinner continued. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves, except for Angelina: she kept looking anxiously at the doors to the Hall. Whenever someone would ask what she was looking for, she would smile nervously and avoid the question. Then it suddenly dawned on Fred: she was waiting for him. 

"I wonder where Fred is," Katie mused as she started on her third helping of cake. 

"Probably got in some sort of trouble," George said matter-of-factly. 

"Sounds high likely," Oliver agreed. 

"The boy hasn't been in the right frame of mind lately," Lee added. 

"The poor boy's heartsick," Alicia said. 

"Um hmm," Katie hummed in agreement. 

"Well, that's too bad for him," Angelina said. She sounded disappointed. Fred walked over and sat in the empty seat next to her. 

_ Happy Birthday!_ he shouted as loudly as he could. 

She couldn't hear him. She didn't even notice. 

_I'm sorry._

Angelina blinked and looked directly at him. "Did you hear anything?" she asked everyone at the table softly. Fred looked over at George, who was looking at Angelina strangely. 

"Did you?" George asked her, a puzzled expression on his face. 

"No." Angelina said with a sigh. "I must be imagining things. I've had a long day." She rose from her seat and scooped up her cat. 

"Heading off to bed?" Katie asked as she passed Angelina her book bag. 

Angelina nodded. She looked once more in Fred's direction, a sad expression on her face. 

There was a chorus of Goodnights and Happy birthdays, and she was gone. 

********************************************* 

"What in the world did you get yourself into this time?" George asked as he walked out of the Great Hall. 

_ I was getting away from Snape,_ Fred replied silently as they turned the corner. 

"What are you talking about?" Lee asked, looking at George who appeared to be talking to himself. 

"Let me guess: this has something to do with Snape," George continued as he headed towards the common room. 

_ How did you know I was there?_ Fred asked. 

"I don't know where you are. But I can feel you lurking about. It's weird," George said as he ran his hand through his hair. 

"Who's lurking about?" Lee demanded as they reached the Fat Lady. 

George just smiled. "Periwinkle." 

_ Hurry up and use the counter spell!_ Fred shouted as he followed them up the stairs to their dormitory. 

"Stand between those bedposts. I'll try the counter spell to the vanishing spell," George said as he reached for his wand. 

_ Finally!_

"A counter spell?" Lee asked as he sat down at his desk. 

George pointed his wand at the bedposts and shouted: "_Seon Herknen! Tangere!_" 

Fred felt the same strange sensation as he had before. He looked down at his hands; the spell had worked. He was so grateful to be back to normal that he only punched George once. 

** To Be Continued**


	5. Kare Kanojo no Jijo: Part 5

**

**

Kare Kanojo no Jijo:

Part 5

By KnightHunter 

Angelina looked out over the frost-covered Quidditch field. November mornings were extremely cold, but she still got up every morning to fly. She kicked off from the ground and shot forward, the cold air stinging her face as she flew higher. 

"Oi! Angelina!" she heard Fred call out. She looked down and saw him standing in the middle of the Quidditch field, yawning and shivering. 

Whatever Fred had done on her birthday, it had earned him morning detentions, evening detentions, detentions between classes, and even detentions during meals for the two weeks afterwards. The day before had been his last day of detentions. She hadn't seen or spoken to Fred for such a long time and she missed him. 

Instead of flying down to greet him she flew higher, out of earshot, before beginning to fly laps around the field. She glanced down only to see that Fred was no longer there. Suddenly, a gust of wind struck her as he flew past her. He circled back and then tackled her with enough force to throw her off of her broom. 

"Hi there!" Fred shouted as he caught her in mid-air and pulled her onto his broom. 

"I could have been killed!" Angelina exclaimed as she began to hit him. 

"I got your attention, at least," Fred said with a smile. He handed her a small package. "It's for your birthday. A bit late though." 

"You almost killed me just to give me a late birthday present?" Angelina asked as she slipped the present into her pocket. 

"And to get your attention," Fred added. " Are you annoyed at me?" 

"Of course," Angelina said as she smiled at him. 

Fred lowered them to the ground. As Angelina got off his broom, he tossed her his scarf. "I'll get your broom," Fred told her as he took off in the direction the broom had headed in. 

Angelina reached into her pocket and pulled out the present. It was small and was wrapped in an old piece of parchment. He had tied it together with what looked like an old piece of string. 

"Wait!" Fred shouted as he flew towards her and jumped off his broom. "Don't open it yet!" 

"Why not?" she asked as she turned it over in her hand. "It was for my birthday." 

"I know," Fred said as he gasped for breath. "You have to read the card first." 

She smiled at him as he rummaged through his pockets. He was concentrating so hard on emptying his pockets that he hadn't noticed that the card had fallen out of his pocket onto the ground. 

"Is that it?" Angelina asked as she picked it up. 

Fred nodded. 

She examined the envelope and then opened it. __

HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Love, Fred 

"Aw. How sweet," Angelina said as she placed the card in her pocket. 

"Now open the present," Fred said with a smile. 

She untied the package. Inside was a pendant, made out of the two rubies they had made in the library months before. He had formed them into the shape of a small heart. Even though it was cold outside, the pendant was warm to the touch. She could feel the warmth even through her thick gloves. 

"I know you're not into jewellery or anything, but star rubies make great good luck charms. And since we have that big match today and everything... I know you don't want me following you around... I'm sorry I've been stupid..." Fred said in a rush, blurting out everything he wanted to say. "I missed being around you... I'm an idiot... I love you... I chickened out." 

"What did you just say?" Angelina said, interrupting him. 

"I chickened out." 

"No, before that," Angelina said with a smile as she shook her head. 

"I'm an idiot?" Fred asked pathetically. 

"I thought I heard you say 'I love you'," Angelina said. 

"I love you, too," Fred replied, grinning. p"Hey! You tricked me into saying that," Angelina protested as she stamped her foot on the ground. 

"Oh, you didn't mean it," Fred said pretending to sound disappointed. 

"You are really something else," Angelina smiled as she wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug. 

"Well, I don't know about you," Fred yawned as he took his scarf back from Angelina, "but I think it's time to go inside." 

"Cold?" Angelina inquired as he began to wrap the scarf around his head. 

"Freezing," he confirmed as he took Angelina's scarf from around her neck and wrapped it around his own. 

"And they say chivalry is dead," Angelina quipped sarcastically as they turned towards the school. 

"Chivalry is not dead. It can't be. Chivalry is a concept, not a living thing, so of course it's not dead. Unless there is actually someone named Chivalry, and that would just be sad." 

"Fred." 

"And on top of that it would be embarrassing," Fred mused aloud as he continued to walk next to her. "Who in their right mind would name a child Chivalry?" 

"Fred." 

"I suppose that it could be a name, I mean I once met a boy named Justice," Fred continued, pretending not to hear her. "His sister was named Liberty of all things. Oh! There were some kids who lived near us named America, Asia, India, and China. I heard their parents recently had a baby boy and they named him Egypt." 

"Fred!" Angelina shouted as she grabbed him by the arm. "What are you rambling about?" 

"Names that people just shouldn't name their children," Fred answered as his face broke into a wide smile. 

"What does that have to do with what I was talking about?" 

"Absolutely nothing," Fred admitted. "What's your middle name?" 

"What does that have to do with what _you_ are talking about?" Angelina laughed as they continued walking. 

"I'm just curious," Fred answered with a shrug. "It must be an embarrassing name since you answered my question with a question." 

*************************** 

"You are still after him, aren't you?" Katie accused Alicia as they sat side by side at the Gryffindor table. 

"After whom?" Alicia asked innocently as she reached for an empty plate. 

"Oliver," Katie teased as she pulled out a small photograph of Oliver from Alicia's bag and waved it in front of her friend's face. 

"Who should be teasing whom here? I'm not the one who's obsessed with a Weasley," Alicia pointed out as she snatched the photo from Katie's hand. 

"I am _not_ obsessed!" Katie hissed defensively as she felt her cheeks become warm with embarrassment. She opened her mouth as if to say something further, but instead she suddenly turned to her breakfast. She realised that no matter what she said, it would be no use: Alicia had the upper hand. Katie had a habit of saying whatever was on her mind, but somehow that morning she managed to silence herself before she said something Alicia could use against her later. 

"Obsessed," Alicia lightly elbowed her friend as she nodded in George's direction. 

Katie quickly looked up at the exact moment that George turned to look in their direction. Realising that he had their attention, he made a great show of stealing Lee's bag, throwing a handful of stink pellets into it, and tightly closing the bag. After a moment he turned to Lee, and politely returned the bag to its owner. 

"The smell is going through the bag!" Lee lamented loudly as he held the bag in front of him and rushed out into the corridor. 

"I'm just interested." Katie added in between giggles. "There's no law against it." 

"Morning, Katie, Alicia," Angelina greeted them as she joined them at the table. 

"G'morning," Katie said as she began to make a strange sandwich of toast containing sausages, jam, ketchup and cheese. 

"Morning, ladies," Fred smiled as he removed the scarves from his head and sat down next to Angelina. 

"Morning," George said as he walked to the table and sat down across from his brother. 

"Well, if it isn't just the three most beautiful women in the world!" Oliver Wood exclaimed as he approached the table. 

"Good morning, Oliver," Katie chorused with Alicia and Angelina as they greeted him in unison. 

"Not fair," Lee complained as he approached the table. "Why is it that you three always greet Oliver like that, and not anyone else?" 

"Because he's Oliver Wood," Katie answered as she smiled brightly and winked in George's direction. 

George smiled at her as he reached for a slice of toast. Katie reached out, snatched the slice from his hand, and bit into it triumphantly. 

"Strange girl, cute, but very strange," George pretended to whisper to himself as he shook his head smiling. 

"George is a funny guy, not even the least bit attractive, but at least he's amusing." Katie smiled as she placed the bitten slice of toast on George's plate. 

"Hey!" Fred protested. "That's my face you're insulting." 

"She only says it because she _loves _him." Alicia teased as Katie and George turned various shades of red. 

As the laughter died down, Katie turned to Alicia. "Payback for touching your sacred photograph?" 

"I have no idea what you are talking about." Alicia stated innocently. 

************ 

"Okay, men," Oliver said as he addressed his team-mates. 

"And women," Angelina corrected him as the other two chasers nodded in agreement. 

"And women," Oliver agreed. "This is it." 

"The big one," one of the Weasley twins stated knowingly. 

"The one we've all been waiting for," the other twin continued, not missing a beat. 

"We know Oliver's speech by heart," the twin sitting next to Harry explained, "we were on the team last year." 

The best Seeker to ever play the game at Hogwarts just smiled meekly and nodded. 

"Shut up, you two," Oliver glared at the twins before he continued. "This is the best team Gryffindor's had in years. We're going to win. I know it." As he spoke he felt the adrenaline rush into his system. They were going to win, Oliver was certain. He could feel it. Even if they only performed half as well as they did in practice, Slytherin did not stand a chance of beating them. 

He quickly finished his speech as he heard Madam Hooch's loud whistle from the field. "Right. It's time. Good luck, all of you." 

He strode onto the field, followed by the team. The bright sunlight tickled his skin and the wind felt cool as it blew past him. The sky was clear, the wind was light, and the temperature was cool. The weather was perfect, as perfect as it could be for Quidditch. The stands were full of spectators and the loud roar of the crowd brought a smile to his face. His face became flushed as the blood rushing through his system reached it, and the muscles under his right eye began to twitch, as always happened when he was overwhelmed with emotion. 

"Mount your brooms, please," he heard Hooch announce; he quickly mounted his broom. He hovered over the ground and anxiously waited for her to blow her whistle. 

"Finally," Oliver thought to himself as Hooch blew the whistle and he took to the air. He rushed towards his planned position in front of the Gryffindor scoring area. His back was completely turned away from the game, but he wasn't concerned. He already knew that Johnson had the Quaffle. For a Chaser she had extremely quick reflexes and she could handle the Quaffle unlike anyone in the school. In practices she was always the first with the Quaffle, and in the official games last year she had held the record for the most start of the game possessions. 

He turned in time to see Johnson powerfully toss the Quaffle towards Spinnet. The Quaffle shot through the air from the force of the pass, but Alicia caught it with no trouble. To beat Slytherin, they had to play an aggressive game. Spinnet was a talented flier and was the team's highest scorer. Oliver watched anxiously as she flew towards the Slytherin scoring area and was surprised when Flint took the Quaffle from her. 

Flint shot towards him, set to score. He was going to try for the far right field hoop: he always did. It was a move Flint had perfected back in his third year. Fake throw to the left, circle the scoring area, and toss into the far right as he came from behind the scoring area. A less experienced Keeper would go after the fake to the left and then attempt to follow Flint around the scoring area, which would leave the hoops completely unguarded. Oliver, however, easily spotted the feint and hovered in front of the centre hoop waiting for Flint to come back around, and then shot towards the far right hoop just as Flint attempted to score. He blocked the shot with the back of his broom, just to show off a bit. '_It was almost too easy_' Wood thought to himself as he watched Bell scoop the Quaffle out of the air. 

Bell played an aggressive, reckless, but almost always effective game. She loved to dive, loop, and corkscrew in the air. She soared through the air, followed by Flint, Johnson, and Pucey. Flint attempted to steal the Quaffle in the same manner he had earlier succeeded in getting the Quaffle from Alicia. Bell just dived under him, banked right, and continued towards the Slytherin posts. A Slytherin Beater shot a Bludger in her direction and hit her on the back of the head. Johnson was too concerned for her friend to attempt to steal the rebound, and so Pucey took the Quaffle. 

One of the twins sent a Bludger speeding towards his brother, who sent the Bludger directly at Pucey; this was one of their favourite plays. The Bludger hit Pucey between the shoulder blades and he dropped the Quaffle, howling in pain. Johnson shot after the Quaffle, and rushed to score. She hurled down the field, flying past everything in her way. She dodged a Bludger like it was nothing and neared the Slytherin posts, not attempting to fly low. Bletchley flew higher to meet her, leaving the scoring area clear. She made a sharp dive and flew underneath him, tossing the Quaffle through the hoop. 

Five minutes into the game and Gryffindor had finally scored. Oliver watched Harry do a few quick loop-the-loops, but was impressed at how quickly his attention turned back to the field. 

Pucey had the Quaffle. After succeeding in hitting him with a Bludger once, both of the twins were gunning for him now. They both sent Bludgers in his direction and then they passed in front of him, one after the other, effectively making him change course. Bell attempted to steal the Quaffle from him, but he managed to dodge her. There was a murmur through the crowd as he dodged the Snitch as well. 

Harry shot after it. Higgs, Slytherin's Seeker, also hurtled towards the Snitch. The two were neck and neck, but Oliver knew that Harry had Higgs outmatched. Sure enough, Harry began to pass Higgs. Everyone on the field remained motionless as they watched them race towards the rapidly moving Snitch. Out of the corner of his eye Wood saw Flint shoot towards Harry._'He's going to block my Seeker!_ Wood thought angrily just before he watched the two collide. 

"That dirty, foul, cheating bastard!" he heard himself shout, his voice full of rage. "My Seeker! Trying to take out my Seeker, Flint? Fly over here! I'll take you out! You foul-mouthed, ugly, son of a troll! You didn't just get beaten with an ugly stick: you broke it! You filthy, rotten..." He cut his ranting short when Hooch gave him a threatening look. 

Oliver was furious. He had never in all of his games against Slytherin seen such an obvious act of cheating. His body was shaking with fury and he could feel the muscle underneath his eye twitching furiously. He ground his teeth together as he tried to calm himself, then motioned for Spinnet to take the penalty. She scored with ease. 

The game was continuing normally, with Flint unfortunately managing to get past Oliver to score once, when Oliver noticed that something was going on. He heard shouting from the stands, and when he looked over he could see the spectators pointing towards the sky. He scanned the field expecting to see the Snitch, but what he saw nearly made his heart stop. Harry's broom was out of control. Oliver watched in horror as the small boy nearly fell, but somehow managed to hang on to his broom. The Weasleys tried to pull Harry away from his broom, but someone, or something, prevented them from doing so. Eventually they just circled below Harry, prepared to catch him if he fell. 

Suddenly, after the five longest minutes of Oliver's life, Harry got complete control over his broom again. Oliver didn't have time to sigh from relief before he watched Harry drop into a dive and speed towards the ground. Harry clapped his hands over his mouth and dropped to the ground on all fours. He coughed, stood up, and the game was over. Harry had caught the Snitch. 

********************** 

"All right, Katie?" George asked as the team headed towards the locker rooms. 

Katie just smiled at him. There was something about the way that she looked at him that always caught him off guard. 

"It's nothing," Katie giggled as she lightly pushed him. "And I'm fine, don't worry." 

"Who said I was worried?" George asked defensively. He was actually very concerned, but he'd never admit it now that he had realised that she'd turned the situation into another one of her games. "It's just that, well, a Bludger to the head usually hurts." 

"Of course it hurt, but as you can see, I'm okay," Katie explained as she lightly patted the back of her head to prove it. She winced as her hand actually touched the place where the Bludger had hit. "My scalp's a bit tender, but that would be expected." 

"You really are hard-headed," George said with a smile. "Most people would have a concussion, or worse." 

"You _are_ worried," Katie smiled. "That's so sweet of you." 

George just shook his head. The more he denied it, the more she would believe it was true. 

"Admit it." 

"Never," George turned his back to her and crossed his arms. 

Katie just rolled her eyes. "I know how you think, George Weasley; you only deny it because I'm right." 

"I only deny it because I know how _you_ think." 

"It's nice to know that you care," Katie said as she hugged him, resting her head against his back. 

"I don't care at all," George protested, blushing slightly. 

Katie let go of him and shook her head. "Silly boy." 

When George turned around to look at her, she had already walked into the girl's changing room. As George walked into the boy's changing room he noticed that his twin was standing next to his locker with a large grin plastered on his face. 

George sighed, looked Fred in the eyes, and then rolled his eyes to the left. 

Fred looked to his right, nodded, and arched his eyebrows quizzically. 

George just shook his head and shrugged his shoulders. 

"Seriously?" Fred asked laughing. 

"At least you find it amusing," George sighed as he began to blush. 

"What about Angelina?" George asked after a moment of silence. 

"What about her?" 

"I noticed that she's talking to you again," George stated as he hung his Quidditch robes neatly inside his locker. 

Fred smiled as he tossed his own Quidditch robes carelessly into his locker. 

"I wonder how long that's going to last..." George muttered to himself as he shook his head. ****

To Be Continued... 


	6. Author's Note and Disclaimer: Part 4

**

Author's note and Disclaimer: Part 4

**

Thank you! Thank yous go to everyone who has read this story. Special thanks go to (in no particular order): Punk-Chick(Angel), Vanessa, Princess17, Greeneyes, Katie, and Aurora. Sorry I missed you all in the last author's note, I was in a time crunch and typed the names I remembered off the top of my head. Of course I have nothing but love for Kyleigh, Ashliegh, UndercoverChad, Black Diamond, BJ, and Phoenix-Angel, but I wanted to make sure you guys know I love you too. ^_^ Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! 

What's an author's note without R.A. worshiping her beta-reader? *bows before the alter in the temple of Elbell* 

All of the characters in the fic belong to J.K. Rowling. Even E. Macmillian, who is listed as checking out Quidditch through the Ages after Angelina, I had to make up the first name and a character description but the credit goes to J.K. Rowling. 

** R.A. feels she must explain herself, again:**

I'd like to apologise to all who have been following this story. I'm sorry you've had to wait so long. I really am. After almost three months, here's the much awaited chapter five. Hope you all like. ^_^ The chapter's a little bit more George and Katie centered, but I'm having so fun with those two. I hope you enjoy reading the Quidditch match as much as I enjoyed writting it. 

Please review. I won't mind if you don't, (ok, I would mind a little) but I'll be tickled pink if you did. Feel free to email me at **reiakari@yahoo.com**. If you feel R.A. still needs some explanin' to do, feel free to let me know. 

Love & Peace, R.A. 


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